Tainted milk leaves 2 dead, 2 more ill since June

Friday

Dec 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 28, 2007 at 1:47 PM

Two people have died and two more have become ill because of milk tainted with listeria bacteria from Whittier Farm -- a dairy operation that has stores in Shrewsbury and Sutton - since June, according to state officials.

Dan McDonald

Two people have died and two more have become ill because of milk tainted with listeria bacteria from Whittier Farm -- a dairy operation that has stores in Shrewsbury and Sutton - since June, according to state officials.

The Department of Public Health issued a warning yesterday, encouraging consumers to toss any Whittier milk products. Brand names produced at the farm include Whittier, Schultz, Balance Rock, Spring Brook, and Maple. Those products are delivered -- in some cases in old-fashioned glass bottles -- to households throughout Greater Worcester, according to the farm's Web site.

Three of the affected individuals were elderly people and the other was a pregnant woman. All four hail from Worcester County. Department Spokeswoman Donna Rheaume declined to identify any of the affected parties.

The State Laboratory Institute linked the four cases through DNA fingerprinting.

The farm, said Rheaume, has voluntarily agreed to suspend operations while the specific source of the contamination is found.

Several calls to the farm were not returned.

Yesterday, Molly Stevens, a dairy farmer in Barre, said listeriosis typically affects cows as ``an infection of the udder.''

Newborns, pregnant women, people with cancer, diabetes, or kidney or liver disease, and the elderly are most susceptible to the sometimes-fatal food-borne disease, according to the Department of Public Health.

Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, nausea or diarrhea, according to the department's statement.

There were 22 documented cases of listeriosis in the state in 2006, according to the DPH.

``Although evidence suggests that contamination is likely to be at a low level and the risk of infection low, even in those at high risk, it is recommended that consumers do not consume these products and discard any of these products they have,'' said Dr. Al DeMaria, the director of communicable disease control for the department in a statement.

A 500-acre family-owned farm located at 86 Douglas Road in Sutton, Whittier's operation features more than 350 Holsteins, retail stores at their farm location and a processing plant and retail store on West Main Street in Shrewsbury, according to the company's Web site.

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